The effect of educational internships on medical students' perceptions of plastic surgery.

Objective: To investigate the effects of plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery educational internships on medical students' perceptions of the scope of plastic surgery.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Gulhane Medical Faculty, Ankara, Turkey, from 2012 to 2013, and comprised 4th-, 5th- and 6th-year medical students. Students were given a questionnaire consisting of 28 questions related to maxillofacial and upper and lower extremity medical conditions, and skin, aesthetic and congenital anomalies.

Oculoauriculofrontonasal Dysplasia Syndrome With Additional Clinical Features.

Oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum and frontonasal dysplasia are two well-known examples of dysmorphology syndromes. Oculoauriculofrontonasal syndrome (OAFNS) is a clinical entity involving the characteristics of both OAVS and FND and is thought to be a result of the abnormal development of structures in the first and the second branchial arches, including the abnormal morphogenesis of maxillary processes. Herein we report a case of OAFNS with cliteral hypertrophy, premaxillary teeth, and inguinal hernia, features not previously reported in the literature.

Effects of transpositional muscle flaps transfected with vascular endothelial growth factor gene in the treatment of experimental osteomyelitis.

Background: Based on the angiogenetic and stimulating effects of bone healing and formation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the present study was designed to assess the efficacy of VEGF gene application in the management of experimentally induced osteomyelitis.

Methods: Thirty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups, and osteomyelitis was induced in the left tibial bones. Group 1 (n=8) was designated as a control group, and, after the induction of osteomyelitis, no treatment was applied for a period of 4 weeks.

Palmar contracture release with arterialized venous instep flap: An anatomical and clinical study.

Background: Plantar skin has similar histologic features to the palmar area and appears to be the ideal tissue for reconstruction of the palmar region. In this study, an anatomic examination was performed to determine the superficial venous architecture of the instep area, and the use of arterialized venous instep flaps for palmar contracture release was assessed.

Methods: The anatomical study was performed on 12 fresh cadaver feet.

Evaluation of the results of simultaneous open rhinoplasty and Abbe flap for the reconstruction of the secondary bilateral cleft and nasal deformity.

Aims: We aimed to evaluate the results of simultaneous rhinoplasty and Abbe flap for the reconstruction of the secondary bilateral cleft and nasal deformity by means of a newly developed software-based method.

Patients And Methods: A total of 16 patients with the bilateral cleft lip nasal deformity received Abbe flap and simultaneous open rhinoplasty between 2004 and 2010. The mean age of the patients was 21 years, and the average follow-up time was 2.

Our experiences on the reconstruction of lateral scalp burn alopecia with tissue expanders.

Introduction: Cicatricial alopecia is a form of hair loss that causes both cosmetic and psychological concerns. Although tissue expanders are the common approach to reconstruction, no algorithm exists in the literature for this process. In this study, it was aimed to create an algorithm for the reconstruction of lateral scalp alopecias with the goal to achieve better and standardized results.

Auto-/homografting can work well even if both autograft and allograft are meshed in 4:1 ratio.

Background: Patients suffering major burns of more than 50% total burn surface area lack an adequate skin graft donor site to resurface extensive burn wounds and usually need widely meshed autografting and allografting. Anything over the 3:1 expansion ratio is strongly associated with low graft take, poor or delayed epithelialization, and hypertrophic scarring.

Methods: In this study, both autografts and allografts were expanded at a 4:1 ratio.

A new flap alternative for trochanteric pressure sore coverage: distal gluteus maximus musculocutaneous advancement flap.

Management of long-term bedridden patients experiencing pressure sores still represents a surgical challenge due to limited flap alternatives and high recurrence rates after the treatment. Fasciocutaneous, musculocutaneous, local perforator-based flaps, and free flaps have all been used for treatment of trochanteric pressure sores. This study presents a new use of distal gluteus maximus (GM) muscle as an advancement musculocutaneous flap for coverage of trochanteric pressure sores in 7 patients.

Free fibular flap vascular pedicle calcification.

Osseous free flaps are major reconstruction choices of the segmental mandibular defects. However, etiology of defects in mandible is variable; tumor-related surgery, trauma, radiation, or congenital anomalies are the most common causes. The advent of microvascular surgery has achieved the reconstruction of complex mandibular defects.

Cerium nitrate treatment prevents progressive tissue necrosis in the zone of stasis following burn.

Cerium nitrate (CN) was used as a topical antiseptic agent for the treatment of burn wounds and found to reduce the number of anticipated death in burn. This decreased burn related mortality cannot be explained by the control of wound infection alone. In the studies performed to elucidate the unexplained effects of CN treatment, it was shown that CN treatment reduced the alarm cytokine levels, decreased leukocyte activation, reduced macromolecular leakage and finally burn edema formation.

Hair transplantation for therapy-resistant alopecia areata of the eyebrows: is it the right choice?

Alopecia areata is a common skin disorder of presumed autoimmune etiology and it usually shows an unpredictable course. Treatment of alopecia areata is challenging. There is very little information on the use of surgical therapies for the treatment of alopecia areata in the medical published work.

Saving the zone of stasis in burns with activated protein C: an experimental study in rats.

Salvage of the zone of stasis is a major subject of focus in burn research. Use of various antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drugs have been studied experimentally, with reports of favourable results; however, none became popular in clinical practice. Activated protein C (APC) is a well-known physiologic anticoagulant.

A new finger fillet design from an index finger with severe postburn flexion deformity.

Treatment of postburn deformities of the hand is a real challenge to reconstructive surgeons. A functional reconstruction was achieved with two sensate island flaps on two discrete pedicles in a case with severe postburn deformity involving both thumb and index finger. Surgical treatment was based on amputation of the second ray and reconstruction of the thumb with the flaps derived from the discarded index finger.

Treatment of temporomandibular joint ankylosis and facial asymmetry with bidirectional transport distraction osteogenesis technique.

Transport distraction technique is a good treatment modality for unilateral temporomandibular joint ankylosis. However, with a unidirectional distraction, it is not possible to correct facial asymmetry that results from mandibular hypoplasia associated with early-onset unilateral temporomandibular joint ankylosis. For this purpose, gap arthroplasty and simultaneous bidirectional transport distraction was used to correct these deformities.

Thalidomide decreases the plasma levels of IL-1 and TNF following burn injury: is it a new drug for modulation of systemic inflammatory response.

TNF and IL-1, which are produced from phagocytic cells, can produce a significant systemic inflammatory response independently by inducing systemic leukocyte and endothelial cell activation. These cytokines play a pivotal role in development of systemic inflammatory response after severe burn. Thalidomide has been shown to decrease the secretion of TNF from phagocytic cells, therefore suppression of TNF and IL-1 production from activated phagocytic cells might be a successful treatment modality for prevention of systemic inflammatory response following severe burn.

Contour restoration of the secondary deformities of zygomaticoorbital fractures with porous polyethylene implant.

Inappropriate treatment or untreated fractures of the zygomaticoorbital area results in secondary deformities such as loss of malar projection, enophthalmos, and dystopia. Secondary deformities can be corrected with osteotomies, contour restoration, or a combination of both. Contour restoration can be performed with using onlay grafting with autogenous material or alloplastic implants.

Assessment of distraction regenerate using quantitative bone scintigraphy.

In this study, we examined whether quantitative bone scintigraphy can be used to assess new bone formation following distraction osteogenesis (DO). A vertical osteotomy was performed on the right hemimandible of male Sprague-Dawley rats, and a custom-made distraction device was applied. Following the gradual distraction, rats were divided into 2 subgroups, the second and fourth week.

Vertical distraction osteogenesis of fibular bone flap in reconstructed mandible.

Excellent functional and aesthetic results can be achieved in mandibular reconstructions with using free fibular bone flap. However, the vertical deficiency between the reconstructed segment and the occlusal plane made dental rehabilitation impossible in some cases. We encountered this problem in our 3 patients who had mandibular reconstruction with fibular flap due to extensive bone defect result from gunshot injury.

A retrospective analysis of 101 zygomatico-orbital fractures.

A 5-year review of 101 cases of zygomatico-orbital fractures is presented. The epidemiology, fracture patterns, treatment modalities, and complications were evaluated in this retrospective study. A majority of fractures were sustained by males and resulted from trauma inflicted during altercations and traffic accidents.

Correction of thumb deformities after burn: versatility of first dorsal metacarpal artery flap.

In the management of a debilitated burned hand due to contractures, thumb reconstruction constitutes the most crucial part for a beneficial functional outcome. Among the limited local flap alternatives for the thumb, the first dorsal metacarpal artery flap, harvested from the dorsal aspect of the index finger can provide elastic, durable and sensate coverage for soft tissue defects after contracture release. In a 3-year period, neurovascular island first dorsal metacarpal artery flap was used in 14 patients suffering thumb deformities.